Les Devants 2020

Les Devants is the flagship red of Domaine de la Sarazinière — a cuvée of genuine historical weight. The vines on this south-facing lieu-dit in Bussières were planted between the 1930s and 1950s by Claude Seigneuret, the estate’s founder, and they remain the source of the domaine’s most structured red. On deep, alkaline clay-limestone soils, these 70–90-year-old Gamay vines produce small yields of concentrated fruit that Philippe and Guillaume ferment through a long, cool maceration of nearly a month — fully destemmed to manage tannin extraction — before ageing in neutral oak barrels for 10 to 12 months. The result is a Mâcon Rouge of rare complexity: aromas of white pepper, dark spice, kirsch, and dried herbs, with smooth, well-integrated tannins and a long, savoury finish. This is Gamay on limestone, a different world from Beaujolais, and one worth discovering.